Holiday Plan 2015: Week 1

It is the kick off week to my holiday planning and super checklist. What I tried to do is break down each task into manageable pieces in order to prepare for Halloween (we don't really celebrate, but I do decorate and hand out candy!), Thanksgiving (we host) and Christmas.

I am sharing with you my personal to-do list (or checklist). I created this around our values, schedules and our preferences for each of the holidays. If you want to follow along, please adapt for your families needs. And let me know what you add/subtract from the list - I am always looking for ways to do things more efficiently!

Week of August 30th:
- create and put together my Christmas notebook; nothing to really put in it yet, but I usually designate an old binder for this task
- Draft a gift list with budget; I create a list of everyone who we give gifts to and jot down ideas on what we should give. I also create a budget specifically related to gift giving and try to stick to that as much as possible
- Review my Christmas card list; I have a pre-made Christmas Card address book and organizer (I know - old fashioned) that I review and see if I need to reach out to people who moved, add new friends, etc.
- Start drafting menus for Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas
- Create a gifts to make list; I love crafting, so I usually will try to make 2-3 Christmas gifts each year
- After creating a potential menu, jot down long-term grocery shopping items. Most of my menu items are not unique and can be easily found. Some exceptions are ingredients or decorations for my Christmas cookies. It is always good to keep these items in the back of your head when the holiday items start getting put out
- Create a Christmas Cookie list & ingredients; I also throw in any desserts for Halloween and Thanksgiving too
- Order/replace any gift wrap, tape, bags, etc; I make sure I have everything I need on hand before I start wrapping (my least favorite Christmas task)
- Deep clean one area of our house; I think this week I will start with our front porch and entry. I love putting out mums, pumpkins, etc on our steps, so I think this makes the most sense to do first

And there you have it! Week 1 isn't so bad, right? Let me know if you are following along!

Holiday Planning 3.0

So last year I posted just about weekly on holiday plan to get everything done. This worked out so well, especially since we were hosting Thanksgiving and had planned a trip to WDW right before Christmas. I have to say we had very little holiday stress because we prepped and prepared for all of the holidays over 18 weeks.

This year I am going to try and re-share what we are doing in order to prepare for the holidays again. This year we are still hosting Thanksgiving, but we do not have a Disney trip in the works (that could always change...) so we will have more time to get the stuff done!

Follow along with us as we get ready for the 2015 holiday season!

We Cheated on Mickey Mouse

One of our nights at the Wyndham property, we decided we had had enough of the sun and wanted to drive somewhere for dinner. We have heard so much about Universal City Walk, we decided to give that a try! So we cheated on Mickey...and he definitely paid us back.

We were disappointed. There were not as many shops as we thought but there were a lot of food options. After we had just arrived and walked in, it started to downpour - like a HUGE storm rolled through. It was probably Mickey crying.

We ended up camping out during the storm at Margaritaville (there could be worse places to be I guess). We all had a round or two of margaritas and ate dinner there. I ordered the Perfect Margarita and it really was perfect! To eat, we had the fish & chips, a burger and the French dip. In the restaurant they play a lot of Jimmy Buffet songs (of course) and they have a volcano erupt in the dining room. It was very entertaining.

When we were walking out Mom had to get something to mark the trip. SO she bought perfume at Fossil. Got to love the shopper! She was determined to go home with something from Universal.

Going to City Walk was something different to do, but not sure it is worth the $17 to park! We then drove back to the resort, cracked open the bottle of champagne we bought at Epcot to celebrate completing our 4-park challenge. It was tasty and a great way to end our fun day.

Kona Cafe, Downtown Disney & T-Rex

While we were staying at the Bonnet Creek resort, we dined out at several resort restaurants and spent a lot of time at Downtown Disney.

The morning we were checking out of the Boardwalk Resort, we had breakfast reservations at Kona Cafe. I had the Tonga Toast and Christopher ordered the Big Kahuna platter. Mom & Dad enjoyed it as well. The service took forever and we were getting really close to check out time, so Mom and I decided to head back to checkout. But...the monorail we were on broke down! So we had to take the water taxi to Magic Kingdom and then the buses. The delay took a while and it turned out we got on the same water taxi as Dad and Christopher! We got to the resort late, but they were very accommodating! We packed up and headed to the pool. Dad went and got the rental car. Then we all drove over to the Wyndham resort.

Our room wasn't ready, so we left for Downtown Disney. We shopped and had a shake at Ghirardelli.  Christopher spoiled me and got me a new Vera Bradley Disney Bag and a beautiful necklace.

We then had an early dinner at T-Rex. None of us had been and we were all excited to try something new together. It was super cute inside. The food was delicious but the service sucked (it was a common theme that day!). I had a meatloaf dinner and Christopher had a burger. All was delicious. And we ordered some fun drinks. I got the Cotton-tini - which is a martini glass filled with cotton candy that they pour the liquor over! Very cool presentation. Christopher also got a fun cocktail too.

At night we relaxed at the resort and had some drinks at one of the pool bars. We ate some coconut shrimp skewers too.

The next day, Dad brought breakfast to the room and we relaxed for a bit then we wandered down to the pool. It was a glorious warm day. We all got some fantastic sun/color. Christopher and I enjoyed the lazy river and we both fell asleep in our tubes.

We treated for lunch at the pool. We had a pepperoni pizza, bread sticks and boneless chicken wings. All were delicious. In the afternoon while we were drying off, we played checkers in one of the playgrounds on site. It was so much fun, except Christopher kicked my butt.

Then later at night, we drove over to Universal City Walk to try that out instead of Downtown Disney...more on that later!

Mom & Dad's Timeshare

Christopher's parents invested into the Wyndham Vacation Club or timeshare program and we got to stay with them for the first time they used their vacation points! We stayed at the Wyndham Bonnet Creek property which is technically on Disney property.

They rented a 2 bedroom villa which was lovely and we can see some fireworks in the distance at night. It is a great location, close to all of the Disney parks, especially Downtown Disney. Whenever we needed a break from the sun and pools, we headed over to Downtown Disney (almost Disney Springs!) and did a little shopping and eating.

The resort has lots of pools and two lazy rivers! I love lazy rivers and spent a lot of time at the pool. The resort restaurants are nice and convenience. We even "tested" out the bar one night ;) We felt very grateful to our parents for such a nice stay at their new property!

Last Day of Annual Passes :(

After a fun breakfast at Hollywood Studios, we headed over to the Animal Kingdom for the morning/afternoon. Mom and Dad haven't really spent a lot of time in the park and we thought this would be fun for them to see. 

We are so proud of Mom who rode on Expedition Everest! Got to love the pictures Disney takes. 

We also rode Dinosaur and I still get scared during the ride! You would like after riding this several times that I would know when the dinosaur pops out! Maybe next time. We also rode the Kilimanjaro Safaris ride and walked though the Pangani Forest Exploration.

For lunch we ate at the Flame Tree Barbecue which was so delicious! Christopher and I split a combo platter and it was plenty of food for two.

After lunch we headed back to the resort and relaxed for a bit at the pool. Later in the afternoon we decided to walk over to Epcot and enjoy the night there. We split a fish and chips in England, then walked over to France for a Croque Monsieur, Bordeaux and a coffee flavored mousse. All was delicious.

We then strolled around the entire World Showcase. We rode the Three Caballeros ride once more and Spaceship Earth. Then we caught Illuminations. We could watch it every night and still be impressed! 

We then walked back to the Boardwalk. Christopher enjoyed a cigar and beer and I got a slice of pizza and a margarita. We relaxed and people watched for the rest of the night. It was very special. 

Mom and Dad decided to have dinner at the new Italian restaurant on the Boardwalk and enjoyed it very much. They then met us out afterwards and we hung out with our drinks. A great way to end our stay at the Boardwalk. 

Star Wars Breakfast

For our last day in the parks, we scheduled a special Star Wars Galactic Breakfast at Hollywood Studios. This breakfast was so much fun! Even Mom and Dad got into it. We saw Darth Vader and Boba Fett. I tried to pose with the choke hold, but Vader was not impressed.

Mom and Dad had a blast. They were interacting with all of the characters and taking pictures with them too.

How cute are the breakfast pastries? I love how Disney gets totally into the theming. It makes the experience that much more fun.

Greedo was a little flirt! He tried to steal me away from Christopher.

Christopher brought a special Buffalo pin to trade with the Jawas. Christopher received a red gem from them - too cute.

We were nervous if Mom and Dad would enjoy the experience and they had a blast. They posed with all of the characters and enjoyed breakfast too.

Got to look out for those little Jawas - they love shiny things like silverware and blue milk.

When the stormtroopers came by, I told them that Christopher was a rebel spy. So they "arrested" him. It was so much fun.

Even Mom and Dad got into trouble with the Stormtroopers.

Breakfast was delicious. I had the Tatooine Sunrise and Christopher had the Imperial Delight. The service was wonderful and the ambiance was great. They showed Star Wars clips including two trailers for the upcoming new movie.

So What did Mom & Dad Do During Our 4-Park Challenge

We planned to do our 4-park challenge day and offered this option for our parents to join us. They decided to have their own day to do whatever they would like.

We were a little worried they would be bored and not know what to do...oh boy were we wrong!

They had a great day at Magic Kingdom! Got lunch at Casey's Corner and caught the Festival of Fantasy parade from the new courtyard area.

They even danced with Olaf! Not sure why we were worried - they had a great day!

Our 4 Park Challenge Day!

During this trip we did a 4 Park Challenge. Our goal/rules of the challenge: go to each park in one day, enjoy at least 3 attractions per park, and eat at least a snack at each park. And....we did it! It is definitely exhausting, but added a different element to our trip

Our first park was Animal Kingdom to capitalize on the extra magic hours in the morning. We were able to ride Expedition Everest TWICE, walked on Kilimanjaro safaris and walked through the Pangani Forest Exploration uninterrupted. We grabbed breakfast at a kiosk and enjoyed some espresso and a croissant.

Next park: Magic Kingdom! We rode Pirates of the Caribbean, Haunted Mansion and the WDW Railroad. We had lunch at Friars Nook (Christopher wanted the pot roast macaroni and cheese) and I shared a pepperoni pizza from Pinocchio's Village Haus. 

Next park: Hollywood Studios. This is our least favorite park, so finding things to do that we both liked was hard. We rode Star Tours, walked through One Man's Dream and then did the Star Wars Lego Experience since it was Star Wars weekend. For our snack, we had a Mickey Ear Ice Cream to help us cool off. 

Since we were making excellent time, we decided to walk back to our resort and take a little nap. It felt so awesome to put our feet up and relax. We probably would have made it through Epcot, but we would have been a little grumpy.

After our nap it was off to our final park - EPCOT! We rode Test Track (thanks to our free fast pass from the ride breaking down), The 3 Caballeros and Mission: SPACE. 

We then relaxed until our dinner reservation at Spice Road Table. We had some celebratory drinks - Christopher picked up a beer from England and I had my favorite martini - no surprises there.

Dinner was delicious but the service was awful. We ordered our favorite pitcher of sparkling sangria, baked brie, calamari and mixed skewers. And of course we finished with coffee and dessert. We caught Illuminations from our table and had a great view of it. We also ran into my co-worker Titi! It was her first trip to WDW and she was having a great time.

And because we are crazies, we ran back to the resort, dropped all of our stuff and ran over to Hollywood Studios to catch Symphony in the Stars. It was so much more huge from outside of the park. We definitely have a new appreciation for the fireworks show.

So...WE DID IT! The 4 park challenge was fun yet exhausting. Definitely not to do with young children, but I would say pre-teen, teens could handle it.

Saturday Breakfast & Epcot

Saturday morning we had breakfast at The Grand Floridian Cafe to catch up with Mom and Dad on their date night and to share with them ours. They had a lovely time at the California Grill. Our breakfast was delicious as usual. Christopher got his fill of steak and eggs and I got the breakfast platter (I like a little bit of everything).

We then made our way to Epcot via the monorail. We went on Imagination with Figment, walked through Innoventions plaza, did Ellen's Energy Adventure and waited in line for Test Track only to have it break down right when we designed our car. Bummer! But we did get a free fast pass to use whenever we would like.

We checked out some of the gardens during the festival. We then walked around World Showcase Lagoon catching the last weekend of the Flower & Garden Festival and all of the fun treats.

We ate a spicy pineapple hot dog, blueberry pomegranate margarita, the lucky combo in China, a beer flight in Germany, Maple Bacon stout from the Smokehouse (while catching the new acappella act perform too - they were AWESOME!) and of course a trip around the world would not be complete without a Grey Goose Grand Marnier martini!

We had a very nice afternoon walking around. We then refreshed ourselves and walked over to the Beach Club for dinner at Beaches & Cream Soda Shop. I had a burger and Christopher had a turkey sandwich. Mom and Dad both had burgers and of course we all indulged in a sundae. It was so cute inside and we had fun selecting tunes from the juke box.

After dinner, Christopher and I walked over to Hollywood Studios to catch Symphony in the Stars. We had some time to kill so we waited and rode Star Tours and had a flight sequence we have not seen before! It was our favorite yet. We then staked our spot on Hollywood Boulevard for the show and fireworks. It did not disappoint. So incredible to have the fireworks go off to the Star Wars score. Christopher videoed it so we can watch it again and again.